Links for May 16th through May 19th

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Sometime between May 16th and May 19th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

  • Geek Girls Network Interview: Shannon Flowers From Seattle Geekly: "…not all geeks are guys. There is an ever growing female demographic that are just as geeky as their counterparts. Geek girls need to remember that they still have a bit of 'power' in the geek world. Haven't you ever walked into a room full of geek guys and they looked at you like 'OMG it's a GIRL!'? We can still flaunt that as geek girls. If you were ever scared to go into your local comic shop, go now, and ask some questions… there will be TONS of guys to jump at the chance to help you!"
  • Zoo’s Penguins Finally on View: "Each penguin has a distinct personality. Dora, who has a yellow tag on her left wing, is a fussy eater. During frozen fish feedings, she usually hangs back while the keepers give out herring and capelin, only eating when they're putting out silver-sides. Meanwhile, Burkles, a penguin with a white tag on his right wing, likes to help himself. He'll walk behind his keepers and look in their pockets, or try the food bucket. 'He's a bucket diver,' Pardo said. Burkles was less keen on catching live fish. John Samaras, the other penguin keeper, had to nudge him into the water."
  • Fox Abandons Experiment to Air Fewer Ads: "Fox Broadcasting has decided to scrap its year-old strategy of airing fewer ads at higher prices during some TV programmes, after it failed to prevent a revenue shortfall. During the test period, 'Fringe'…ran with around 10 minutes of ads, about four to six minutes less than the typical hour long show. Fox's experiment with airing full seasons of shows with fewer ads was designed to combat ad clutter and stop viewers from fast-forwarding through breaks." That's a shame — I liked the extra runtime and fewer commercials. Can't honestly say I'm surprised this happened, though.
  • It’s Terminal: A Dozen Scenes of Early Office Computing: "Computers… at home, at work and at play we take these technological marvels for granted yet not long ago we did not compute anywhere. The introduction of computers began at the workplace and, chunky and clunky as they might have been, they were a revelation at the time. Let's look back and get digital with early office computers!"
  • Reinventing Star Trek’s VFX: "Kavanagh is eager to make a point about the post-production work at ILM, and to do so, he's showing some of the early cuts. Onscreen, the iconic U.S.S. Enterprise, streamlined, modeled, animated, and rendered at ILM, is voyaging somewhere in the final frontier. And then, as if we were watching a silent movie, a black card with white text interrupts the sequence. It reads: 'Overhead light dutch angle of Enterprise in the middle of massive debris field. Enterprise barreling through it.'"

I Did Some Wonder Loaf

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I’m about halfway through cleaning up the audio import of the original Woodstock 3-LP soundtrack album, and was just reminded of one of the funniest little videos I’ve run across in a long time.

I love Joe Cocker‘s version of The Beatles‘ “With A Little Help From My Friends” (and his version of “Come Together” from Across the Universe — actually, as good as the originals are, I prefer Joe’s versions), but in all honesty, I’ve never been entirely sure just what he’s singing. I know what the lyrics are, or at least what they should be…I just don’t think Joe did.

Here’s one person’s take on interpreting Joe’s mumblings, apparently done as a birthday present for a friend. I love this…absolutely hilarious.

Links for May 7th through May 14th

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Sometime between May 7th and May 14th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

  • Dell Launches ‘Della,’ a Women’s PC Site: "Want to market netbooks as a fashion statement? Fine. Just don't create a silo for women in a Web site like Della, that depicts females as poolside-lounging, latte-sipping ladies with little else to do than decide how to match their outfits to a computer."
  • Star Trek Movie Annotations: "Every article and review has mentioned how time travel is being used to explain/justify this reboot, this new take on things where old rules are broken or, at least, revised. And yet, it is clear that the writers involved have an affection for what came before, making many references to the canon old school fans know and love. Thus, we have put together this list of references and nods to other Trek stories. BE WARNED, SPOILERS ABOUND BELOW. If you have not yet seen the new Star Trek film, DO NOT continue reading so you can fully enjoy the story later for yourself."
  • Home Is Still Where My Eyes Are: "My problem remains that going to the movies now doesn't offer much of an escape. And if you're a kid, you might not want to blow all your allowance money for a single movie ticket and then break open the piggy-bank if you want some popcorn and a soda. And if you're an adult, you're stuck watching movies that are either out of focus or not properly displayed on the screen amidst a sea of rude people who will gladly put their stinky shoes right next to your face while they text message their friends about how bored they are."
  • A History of Klingon, the Language: "Klingon sentence structure is about as complex as it gets. Most people are familiar with the idea that verb endings can indicate person and number. In Spanish, the -o suffix on a verb like hablar (to speak) indicates a first-person singular subject (hablo–I speak) while the -amos suffix indicates a first-person plural subject (hablamos–we speak). But Klingon uses prefixes rather than suffixes, and instead of having six or seven of them, like most romance languages, it has 29. There are so many because they indicate not only the person and number of the subject (who is doing) but also of the object (whom it is being done to)."
  • With a Private MiFi Hot Spot, Be Online Wherever You Like: "…imagine if you could get online anywhere you liked — in a taxi, on the beach, in a hotel with disgustingly overpriced Wi-Fi — without messing around with cellular modems. What if you had a personal Wi-Fi bubble, a private hot spot, that followed you everywhere you go? Incredibly, there is such a thing. It's the Novatel MiFi 2200, available from Verizon starting in mid-May."

Spockstradamus

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So the Star Trek universe is now in an alternative timeline. Everything that we ‘know’ of Trek’s future history (save, of all things, the Enterprise series) has been wiped out, and our beloved crew (and all the writers tasked with coming up with new and interesting things to do) has a blank slate to work with. However, it’s still a pretty big universe, and there’s a lot of stuff out there that won’t have been affected by the timeline split. While I’d rather see new adventures from here on out, if writers ever need some inspiration, there’s a fair amount of stuff that we already know is going to be a problem down the line.

So, with a little digging around on Memory Alpha, I present a (very incomplete) list of things that Spock Prime could warn the Federation about, as they should still exist to pose future threats to the Federation. Obviously, one could just list every bad guy and alien encounter seen in all the series and films, but I just wanted to grab a few of the ‘biggies’ (that is, major potential death toll events) that came to mind.

Feel free to toss out more that might be interesting, this is just a few minutes of pondering.

  • 2267: Discovery of the S.S. Botany Bay, carrying Khan and his crew of supermen. Probably best to either just torpedo the ship, or aim it at a planet not likely to explode and dump Khan and crew off there as if they’d arrived normally.
  • 2267: The planet killer starts gobbling up Federation worlds.
  • 2268: Yonada is on a collision course with Daran V. Perhaps not a threat to the entire Federation, but the Yonadans have the cure for the disease xenopolycythemia which will kill McCoy in 2269 if not treated.
  • 2268: A giant toxic space amoeba which could multiply and ‘infect’ the galaxy appears.
  • 2273: V’ger returns in search of its creator.
  • 2365: First contact with the Borg. However, as this contact is instigated by Q, there’s no way to positively determine an exact date when the alternative universe Borg will discover the Federation.
  • 2387: A super-supernova destroys Romulus (remember, that was only stopped in the Prime timeline, not the new timeline).

Update: Pop Culture Zoo has taken a much more in-depth look at the ramifications of the new timeline that’s well worth reading. Touches on some of the things I mentioned in the list above, and brings up a few others.

Now that we know how the new Star Trek film handles the continuity issues, what exactly does it all mean and what are the greater implications to not just the original series, but the greater Trek mythos as a whole? I freely admit I may be the only one who really cares, but the more I started thinking about what this new timeline meant, the more it spiralled out of control. So, I decided to take a stroll through established Star Trek history and was surprised at all the events, large and small, that are affected as a result of two actions on Nero’s part. It all starts in the time of Mark Twain.

Thoughts on Star Trek

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As briefly mentioned earlier, Prairie and I went out to see Star Trek on Friday evening, and, long story short: given the unenviable and potentially disastrous goal of reinvigorating a much-beloved but floundering and stagnant franchise that most people had written off as long past its prime, J.J. Abrams and company managed to beat the odds and pull it off with style. In the many long months leading up to the release of the film, I’d wanted it to be good, I’d hoped it would be good, and as we got closer, the many outstanding reviews gave me hope — and for once, I wasn’t let down.

Non-spoilery Rambling

The biggest question, of course — beyond even the redesign of the Enterprise and her big nacelles, or how well the story would mesh with established canon — was whether recasting characters that we’ve known for so many decades would even work. Could they manage to be the characters without either slavishly aping the original actors, or fall into parody? Would Kirk be Kirk without Shatner’s (not quite) inimitable delivery?

Thankfully, the answer is yes. As I’ve been thinking back over the film over the past couple days, the biggest thing that stands out to me is just how incredibly well the cast did at inhabiting the essence of the characters and their personalities without falling into the trap of mimicking the original actors. Pine, Quinto and Urban as the “holy trinity” of Kirk, Spock and McCoy likely had the toughest jobs in making us believe in them as the characters, but all three of them (along with the rest of the primary cast) managed to make me a believer.

Given that much of what was done in this film was necessary to ‘reset’ the franchise so that they could move forward from here without being trapped by canon — really, I don’t quite understand how people can be upset about the device used to reset things, as without that, we’d know the future of the characters and there wouldn’t be much long-term suspense or real sense of danger — I am really looking forward to seeing where we go from here on out.

I want to see this movie in the theater again, I want to have it at home to watch again, and I already can’t wait to see what this team can do with the sequel, when they’re free to move forward.

More thoughts under the cut, as they’re going to be more than a little spoileriffic…

Read more

Links for May 6th through May 7th

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Sometime between May 6th and May 7th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

  • Magic and the Brain: Teller Reveals the Neuroscience of Illusion: "To kill some time in a diner, Teller was practicing his version of Cups and Balls, a classic sleight-of-hand trick popularized by ancient Roman conjurers. It involves a series of 'vanishes' and 'transpositions' as the balls appear and disappear underneath the cups. Teller hadn't brought any props, so he used wadded-up napkins and clear water glasses. Somehow, this made the trick even better. Although it was now possible to follow the crumpled napkins as Teller variously palmed them, squished them, and moved them from cup to cup, the illusion persisted. 'The eye could see the moves, but the mind could not comprehend them,' he says. 'Giving the trick away gave nothing away, because you still couldn't grasp it.'"
  • Star Trek: Spock, Kirk and Slash Fiction: "For decades, dedicated fans of 'Star Trek' have postulated a Kirk-Spock romance. A look at 'slash' fiction, 40 years later." For people who know of slashfic, this article isn't going to say anything new. What's most interesting to me is that it was written for Newsweek — not one of the places I'd generally expect to see an article exploring this side of fandom.
  • SEO Joke, SEO, Joke, Search Engine Optimized Joke, Funny, Funny Joke: "So a CEO, a web programmer and an SEO expert are on a desert island. And the SEO expert says, 'You guys, I'm so thirsty. Is there anything to drink?' And the CEO says, 'I just drank the last of my water 30 minutes ago.' And the web programmer says…"
  • The Star Trek Failure Generator: "Failure (No. 60441): The gravitational algorithms are unstable! // Fix (No. 637735822): Calibrate the primary hologrid with subcutaneous processors!"
  • Star Trek Klingon Language Suite: "Standard issue for cadets at Starfleet academy, the Klingon language suite is an integral part of any officer's electronic reference library and has even been adopted by the Klingon fleet for use by officers interacting with Federation forces. Available for iPhone and iPod Touch, the Klingon Language Suite will beam you to the top of the promotion list – or increase the odds of would-be cadets' admission to the academy! "

Links for May 2nd through May 5th

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Sometime between May 2nd and May 5th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

  • Secrets of the Phallus: Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?: "If you've ever had a good, long look at the human phallus, whether yours or someone else's, you've probably scratched your head over such a peculiarly shaped device. Let's face it–it's not the most intuitively shaped appendage in all of evolution. But according to evolutionary psychologist Gordon Gallup of the State University of New York at Albany, the human penis is actually an impressive 'tool' in the truest sense of the word, one manufactured by nature over hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution. You may be surprised to discover just how highly specialized a tool it is."
  • The Biology of B-Movie Monsters: "Size has been one of the most popular themes in monster movies, especially those from my favorite era, the 1950s. The premise is invariably to take something out of its usual context–make people small or something else (gorillas, grasshoppers, amoebae, etc.) large–and then play with the consequences. However, Hollywood's approach to the concept has been, from a biologist's perspective, hopelessly naïve. Absolute size cannot be treated in isolation; size per se affects almost every aspect of an organism's biology. Indeed, the effects of size on biology are sufficiently pervasive and the study of these effects sufficiently rich in biological insight that the field has earned a name of its own: 'scaling.'"
  • Cheap Thrills With Muppets Rawk: "For this show artists had to take an existing rock album cover and re-image it with Jim Henson's Muppets. You could use any Muppet and it the art had to be 12' x 12'. When I got to join in on this I searched a little bit for some cool covers. The previous show had some gems in them…I knew that I had to do something really cool. So when I ran across Cheap Thrills over and over in lists of the 'best rock covers ever'. Someone had to do this cover with Muppets! I wasn't sure if I could really do it, but I thought I'd bite off more than I could chew and do it myself."
  • Stop Worrying About Your Children!: "In her new book, 'Free-Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts With Worry,' Skenazy suggests that many American parents are in the grips of a national hysteria about child safety, which is fed by sensationalistic media coverage of child abductions, safety tips from alarmist parenting mags, and companies marketing products that promise to protect tykes from every possible danger. She by no means recommends that mom and dad chuck the car seats, but says that trying to fend off every possible risk, however remote, holds its own unfortunate, unintended consequences."
  • Old Japanese Maps on Google Earth Unveil Secrets: "When Google Earth added historical maps of Japan to its online collection last year, the search giant didn't expect a backlash. The finely detailed woodblock prints have been around for centuries, they were already posted on another Web site, and a historical map of Tokyo put up in 2006 hadn't caused any problems. But Google failed to judge how its offering would be received, as it has often done in Japan. The company is now facing inquiries from the Justice Ministry and angry accusations of prejudice because its maps detailed the locations of former low-caste communities."

Links for April 28th through May 1st

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Sometime between April 28th and May 1st, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

  • DJ Richie Hawtin ties Twitter into his setlist with Twitter DJ and Traktor: "The Twitter DJ application utilizes feeds from an updated version of Traktor's standard broadcasting technology to send 30 second updates during Hawtin's set of what's currently playing to a designated Twitter account, allowing anyone following the Twitter group to obtain a unique insight into how a DJ builds the atmosphere and dynamics of a set, track by track, and in real time."
  • Ferris Bueller is Tyler Durden: "My favorite thought-piece about Ferris Bueller is the 'Fight Club' theory, in which Ferris Bueller, the person, is just a figment of Cameron's imagination, like Tyler Durden, and Sloane is the girl Cameron secretly loves. One day while he's lying sick in bed, Cameron lets 'Ferris' steal his father's car and take the day off, and as Cameron wanders around the city, all of his interactions with Ferris and Sloane, and all the impossible hijinks, are all just played out in his head. This is part of the reason why the 'three' characters can see so much of Chicago in less than one day — Cameron is alone, just imagining it all. It isn't until he destroys the front of the car in a fugue state does he finally get a grip and decide to confront his father, after which he imagines a final, impossible escape for Ferris and a storybook happy ending for Sloane ('He's gonna marry me!'), the girl that Cameron knows he can never have." (Continue reading comments for more exploration of the theme.)
  • How to Be a Successful Evil Overlord: "Being an Evil Overlord seems to be a good career choice. It pays well, there are all sorts of perks and you can set your own hours. However every Evil Overlord I've read about in books or seen in movies invariably gets overthrown and destroyed in the end. I've noticed that no matter whether they are barbarian lords, deranged wizards, mad scientists, or alien invaders, they always seem to make the same basic mistakes every single time. With that in mind, allow me to present…The Top 100 Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord"
  • The Skinny on Using NASA Images: "The short version: All publicly available NASA images are on nasaimages.org, which is co-operated by the Internet Archive. It is most likely legal for you to use them for any purpose (commercial or otherwise) unless there's someone famous in the image. Keep reading for more detail."
  • Practical Tips for Combatting Swine Flu in Your Home: "*There is always some flu around and flu is always killing some people. Even when a raw mutant flu manages to kill off more people than a shooting-war, flu has never ravaged whole cities as cholera or the Black Death can do. As awful pandemics go, flu is like the snotty-nosed little sister of awful pandemics. *So if you catch the new swine flu, you're very likely not gonna die. *But since it is a flu, you're gonna kinda WISH you could die. *You're not ACTUALLY gonna die unless your lips are turning blue, you have bad chest pains, you can't swallow water, you can't stand up, you're having seizures and you don't know where you are or what your name is. As this document suggests, you're gonna want to watch out for those symptoms."